“Tamil Penchant to see
a Trinity in each generation (musical) implied an attitude of veneration,
which, considering the caliber of those constituting the triple Trinities was
fully deserved. On the other hand, it could also suggest a collective
inclination to set high standards against which to measure a generations’
artistic worth.” – TJS George in MS: A Life in Music
Tamil society loves to have stars in every aspects of
life. Some are grudgingly compared to the 'stars' in their field and look diminished;whereas others happily coalesce to the star power.
In Tamil Literary world three such stars are: Charu Nivedita,
Jeyamohan and S.Ramakrishnan. Even after the arrival of next generation
writers, this trinity has not lost its star status. Selecting these three for
writing about has two reasons. One this Trinity contributes extensively in web
world, two the strength of reading their most works.
Charu
Nivedita:
Charu started writing in Web around 2000, out of the
trinity he has the largest readers (fans I should say). He first wrote in Vikatan.com which was a
startup by Vikatan Publications which publishes various popular magazines.
Since it was free website and also had the brand name Vikatan Charu was able to
reach a lot of foreign Tamil readers especially Sri Lankan Tamils. These
readers still are the major fund raisers for Charu. “Konal Pakkangal” was the
name of the column which serialized and then was published as a book. In that
he discussed on the Literature, Music, Cinema, Gossips and lot of others. It
catered to the online readers because of the following reasons:
- Insightful parody on the current political and social events happening in India, Tamil Nadu in particular.
- Introducing Erotic literary texts and writers like Marquis de Sade etc.,
Charu Nivedita |
Having said this, it might sound a single dimensional
reading. It also contained essays on “Billie Holiday” and Latin American Music
which were unique. Charu’s novels like “Rasa Leela”, “Kamaroopa Kathaigal” were
serialized in his blog (charuonline.com\blog) then published as books.
Today even after his controversial support to
Nithyananda and allegations of sex messages to a female writer, Charu has an
inspiring presence in the online world.
Jeyamohan:
Jeyamohan also started writing in the Web around 2000.
Looking back now, we could say that the articles around were focused broadly on
these two themes. One the articles were written to take part in online debate
and put forth his arguments. By doing that he countered the incorrect reading
of his works and false propaganda about his personality. Two essays written to
introduce the books he read and critical analysis on the works of eminent Tamil
Writers. He wrote them in Thinnai.com till 2007. From that year on he writes
almost an article a day in his own blog jeyamohan.in.
The specialty of the Jeyamohan is that he hasn’t fallen
prey to the cult of writing in a different language for the Web. Because of that some of his essays may be
more than 10 pages and short stories extending 5 pagees in our computer screen. His blog contains essays under different genres including political
criticisms, travelogues, introducing different personalities etc. He shares
his experiences, views on life and engages constantly with the readers.
Jeyamohan |
His
novels “Anal Kattru”, “Iravu”,” Maththagam” and short story series under the
title “Aram” were serialized online and then went on to get published. Now
looking back Jeyamohan has utilized this online medium to a near perfection.
S.Ramakrishnan:
S.Ramakrishnan
is relatively a late comer to online media. He writes mostly on his choices and
preferences in movies, music and foreign personalities. His blog is
sramakrishnan.com and essays on foreign movies, books are very thought
provoking. S.Ramakrishnan language in
itself is simple and easy to engage. His wish list of 100 important books in Tamil
and 100 movies to be seen are very important for starters.
S.Ramakrishnan |
I consider this essay to be starting point to know and
access these three writers and going over to the website will open new avenues
for a literary reader.
Smart intro about three stalwarts of Tamil Literature
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